Category: Mammals
The fox squirrel is the largest species of squirrel native to North America. They thrive in forests or urban neighborhoods where trees such as oak, hickory, walnut, and pine that produce winter-storable foods like nuts are found. They prefer habitats with little or no understory vegetation and spend more time on the ground than other species of tree squirrels.
Bats: The Only True-Flying Mammal
Bats, the only mammal capable of true flight, are not blind - their eyes are just fine, thank you very much. But instead of eyes, most bats rely on an incredibly fine-tuned sense of hearing when they fly and hunt. Using a technique called echolocation, they emit high-pitched calls (usually above the range of human hearing), using the echos that are reflected back to them as a means of navigation and locating objects. The ears, auditory cortex, and (in a few cases) even noses of some bats are extraordinarily specialized for echolocation; there are even bats that have adapted the frequency of their calls to frequencies above or below what their favorite prey can hear!
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Discover Animals is a web-based educational resource offered by the NAIA
